by successfulbob | commercial photography, Lumix GH3, Lumix Lounge, people photography, photography
Fun shoot!
The Arizona Roller derby girls came to the the Arizona Professional Photographers Association meeting to add a little color for the photographers to shoot. A studio area for attendees to shoot during the convention was set up. The Roller Derby ladies got images to use for their promotion and the photographers got great animated models to put in front of their lenses.
Originally it was scheduled that the derby girls were going to have individual head shots for their promos but I wanted to take it a step further an see what kind of action we could put together. I think we got some ‘Bigger than Life’ images for them to use to promote their sport as well as some individual head shots… Wanna become an AZ Derby Skater? get more info.
Anita Alibi Poses for a head shot.
Ducky Norris enjoys the spotlight.
Simulated action is when the fun begins… These girls know how to put on a show!
More showtime from the derby girls.
Teammates!
It was a pleasure working with the AZ Roller Derby Team. They were really ready to put on a show and I’m certain that translates into great theater and sport in their matches! I’d love to do a full-on marketing shoot with the team!
What are you doing to stretch your education and practice of photography???
Wanna become an AZPPA Member? Get more Info
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | commercial photography, Lumix GH3, Lumix Lounge, people photography, photography, photography education
The Sedona Integrative Medical Clinic was a great opportunity to shoot in many different styles of work on one job. The catchphrase of Bob Coates Photography is ‘Making people, places and products look better than good.” Here was the job. Head shots, group shot, action images (for sense of place) and product images.
What a great group of people! I went to get some Physical Therapy from Eric and suggested I might be able to help in dressing up the Sedona Integrative Medical Clinic’s web site and marketing material. First on the docket was to update the Facebook header with a group image of the staff.
Nicole, Dom, Linda, Eric, Tera and Vanessa. Staff of the clinic.
I was looking for a very clean background and went with white to help give a clean medical feel. The font is Trajan Pro from their logo to tie together with previous marketing and is reversed with a drop shadow to keep with the white theme. Images were captured with the Lumix GH3 with a trigger to set off studio lights I brought in for the job. Paul C Buff lights were used one equipped with a shoot-through umbrella. A second light was outfitted with a regular umbrella on the same side as the shoot though for form fill. This gives a nice shape to the faces but doesn’t let the shadow side go too dark.
One suggestion I make for offices with multiple people is to photograph each individual separately and then assemble them into the group photo. This saves trying to rally all the staff for a new photo when there is a change of personnel. When that happens now we only need to photograph the new employee, remove the employee that is leaving and insert the new employee in the image. This saves tons of time and allows the staff photos to be up-to-date with little additional fuss or the cost of redoing the entire photo. Many different styles of background or lighting may be chosen with this approach.
I also set up a quick faux studio to highlight different product lines offered for sale. If this was a shoot for the manufacturer’s advertising there would have been a lot more attention to detail and lighting, but since this is just for web use I think we did OK using the ivy wall as a background and white surface as the base. I had Dom hold a scrim over the product in order to control the overhead lights giving an even illumination with no hot spots. Here are a couple examples…
Using a shallow depth of field allows the product to come forward in the photo.
Light coming form the window behind adds depth and dimension by
also helping to separate the product from the background.
The scrim Dom is holding spreads the light and keeps distracting
highlights from taking your attention away from the product.
I always ask in my business blog posts, “How may I help you tell your business story in a professional way?? Give me a call or drop me an email to have a chat about your wants and needs. No obligation and as always if you aren’t thrilled with the images we’ll work it again or I’ll refund your money.” And give them contact information.
I’ll show you some more images tomorrow that help tell the story of the clinic.
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | black & white, fine art photography, landscape photography, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, marketing, people photography, photography, photography education, photography gear
SUCK it UP!!
If you aren’t participating in image competition I feel you are missing a huge piece of the education puzzle in becoming a better more successful photographer. Almost every photographer I’ve seen who gets in the game, submits images, attends the judging and listens to the critiques has shown amazing progress in the depth of their work.
It also doesn’t hurt that you can win awards, work toward your PPA degrees and talk photography with a bunch of like minded people. If you wait until you think you are ready for imaging competition you are missing the boat because this is how you get better, not by waiting until you think you are ‘good enough’. If you need some help in getting started, get in touch and I’ll point you in the right direction.
And, as Paul Harvey used to say, “Here’s the ‘Rest of the Story”.
In addition to the education I received by being immersed in imaging competition last weekend I managed to score a few awards.
‘Street Portrait – ‘Doc” First Place Masters Portrait
Camera info – Lumix GX7 35-100 2.8 @47mm exp 1/160, f2.8, ISO 200 square in-camera crop
Captured on the 2nd day I had the Lumix GX7 in my hands in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I saw Doc and asked if he’d mind if I made his image after chatting with him for a bit. It was nice to be introduced to him by my friend & fellow photographer Dennis Chamberlain. He told me Doc was quite the character and he was right. I asked Doc to move to put him in some good light.
‘Art of the Saxophone’ earned First Place Masters Illustrative Image – AZPPA Loan Collection and the American Society of Photographers Award (ASP) captured with the Lumix GX7.
Photographing some live music in nearby Cottonwood, Arizona and I spied this Sax on stage. Photographed it with the thought of creating an art piece. Even though I floated the sax in the scene it was the other instruments that help tell the story and add depth to the piece. The look was accomplished using multiple texture images, blend modes, masks, layers and color enhancements. It’s one of the programs I give. See if one is happening near you here. If you have a photo group and would like me to speak get in touch. Depending on the size of your group Panasonic will pick up most or all of the tab.
‘Committed’ – Awarded 2nd Place Masters IllustrativeCamera and gear info – Lumix GX7 7-14 f4 @12mm exp 1/6 sec, f4, ISO 3200 Seven shot bracket.
camera mounted on Culmann Germany carbon fiber tri-pod Magnasit 532C
Check out the tattoo of the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi from Santa Fe, New Mexico on this young man’s back. I was photographing the Cathedral around 10 PM and he walked by working on setting up for the Indian Market the next day and he said, “I have a tattoo of that on my back.” I asked if he had a minute to spare and could I make his photograph. I bracketed the image with 7 stops automatically with the Lumix GX7. Got off only two bursts because I had him for about 30 seconds before he was called back to his duties.
Guardsman’s Pass, Utah scored an 80 for a merit
Camera – Lumix GX7 35-100 f2.8 @42mm exp 1/640 sec, f7.1, ISO 640 (set by camera panorama mode)
This rounded out my image case. This was the first use of the in-camera panorama from the Lumix GX7. I love this feature! That doesn’t mean I don’t also make my panos the old fashioned way with multiple exposures and stitching them together when I want a larger file to work with but this is a great feature.
Managed to make it into the AZPPA Top Ten for the 14th time in 15 years. This information is being compiled into a press release. Check here for more information on how get the most from your marketing.
Til next time. Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, musician photography, people photography, photography
As you probably know I enjoy the challenge of capturing live stage music. In order to keep my skills in top form even when I’m not hired I keep photographing performances even when I’m out to dinner. Sometimes after sharing the images with the artist it leads to the musician becoming a paying client for creating marketing images or CD cover art.
I’ve found the Lumix GX7 micro 4/3rds format has lots of things going for it when working (playing!) this way. It’s got a very low profile, weighs less than 2 pounds with the 35-100mm 2.8 lens vs the over 5 pounds for my dslr with equivalent lens combo. I’m also finding that the camera is a picking up a pretty wide dynamic range which is really helpful as many small clubs are now using LED stage lighting which doesn’t have the full spectrum of color not to mention the range of light to dark.
Here are a couple images from Sound Bites Grill in Sedona….
Susannah Martin Jazz Trio on stage in Sedona, Arizona. This image was double processed from the same
RAW file with the stage lighting the concern on one process and the outdoor image in another
and stripped in using a mask in Photoshop.
Vocal stylist Susannah Martin live at Sound Bites’ Show Lounge.
Ralf Illenberger Live at the Sound Bites Grill Show Lounge in Sedona, Arizona.
by successfulbob | black & white, commercial photography, fine art musician portrait, graphic design, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, musician photography, people photography, photography, photography education
If you follow my blog and life you’ll see that I’m a music fan. Photographing live music is something that I have been devoting myself to and adding in creating art for the musicians. When something like the Old Town Center for the Arts annual Blues Fest comes along I am in hog heaven. It gives me a chance to photograph and practice new techniques.
Tommy Dukes, Arizona Blues Hall of Fame member. Artistic Photoshop work from blues fest performance. Original capture with Lumix GX7 35-100.. 2.8 lens. Impressive Art filter. Layers and textures add to final art mix.
Did I say it gives me a chance to practice? I believe practicing is as important to photographers as it is to musicians, athletes or anyone else who needs to have the skill of working under pressure. Changing settings, working in new lighting (and often challenging) conditions is something you need to be able to work with almost without thinking so you can capture the essence of a performer. In this case I was playing with some of the presets in the camera and finding some cool looks. In order for you to access the camera pre-sets after downloading you need to capture the images as jpegs. For safety sake and to have all the info presented to the camera you can save as RAW plus jpeg.
Tommy was quite animated and his shirt added to the life of the performance. Capture with Impressive Art filter then layers of texture added to foreground and background.
Then I self assign creation of CD covers, music and musician art and share the ideas with the artists and their marketing people. This has led to being hired to do the work I enjoy. Hmm. Practice. Self assignments. Sharing. Marketing. People often ask me how I get the images I do and the work I want to do. Re-read the last paragraph again and you’ve got he answer. When are you starting your next personal project?
Pretty much straight out of the GX7 camera using the monochrome art setting. Pretty clean black and white!
Straight out of camera with the Impressive Art setting on the Lumix GX7
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | fine art musician portrait, fine art photography, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, musician photography, people photography
These are two of the house players for Sound Bites Grill in Sedona who have been added to the Wall of Fame
New Wall of Fame member Steve Sandner playing keyboards and singing as part of the Jazz Fest Jam night at Sound Bites on March 23rd.
Chris Finet is a strong Bass Player. He made the Wall of Fame at Sound Bites Grill. Originally from Phoenix, Chris is the Professor of String Bass and Jazz Studies at Northern Arizona University. In addition to his work as an educator at NAU, Chris keeps busy performing throughout Arizona and the rest of the country.
Images were captured with the Panasonic Lumix GX7 and 35-100mm 2.8 lens (70-200mm 35 mm equivalent)
